R. Matthew Darst, Ehraz Refayet, and Alexandros VardoulakisWe examine how macroprudential capital requirements interact with competition between banks and non-banks to shape lending standards. Banks have private information and benefit from deposit insurance, while non-banks lack such advantages but are less regulated. We show that higher capital requirements raise banks' incentives to screen, tightening lending standards despite a decline in lender protections at the contract level. Non-bank competition does not erode but rather strengthens aggregate standards by crowding out riskier bank lending. Optimal capital regulation is lower in the presence of non-banks. Our analysis helps rationalize dynamics in leveraged loan and private credit markets.
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